Heat exchangers such as vehicle radiators having tubes extending between headers/collecting tanks and plate or serpentine fins are well known. In many applications, such heat exchangers are fan assisted whereby a fan may force air over heat exchange surfaces (e.g., the tube walls and fins) to facilitate heat transfer between the air and coolant or other fluid in the tubes.
In many such applications, a fan shroud is provided to assist in guiding the fan air over the heat exchange surfaces. Secure and reliable fastening or mounting of the fan shroud relative to the heat exchanger is, of course, important, as is the ability to assemble and, perhaps years later, disassemble such a fastening.
For example, one known radiator of the type just described is apparent from DE 42 44 037 C2, in which fastening devices on the edge of the fan shroud cooperate with fastening devices on the collecting tanks of the heat exchanger. Although assembly of the fan shroud in the known radiator is also possible when the radiator is also incorporated in a vehicle, disassembly of the fan shroud is difficult, since a tool must be used to loosen the elastic locking hooks molded onto the two collecting tanks to the heat exchanger in order to be able to free them from their locked position. Moreover, it appears that, with a radiator having standard dimensions, it would be difficult for a single assembly person to loosen both locking hooks simultaneously, such loosening being necessary to disassemble the fan shroud. In addition, the arms which run from the frame to the edge of the fan shroud occupy the housing in the vehicle (where space is very limited anyway). Still further, the arms pose a certain risk of injury to the assembly person, especially if they are not carefully deburred.
A U-shaped housing is also proposed in DE 100 61 561 A1 or in WO 99/47875. One or more heat exchangers are positioned in the housing, and fastening devices which cooperate with fastening devices on the edge of the fan shroud are arranged in the housing. The housing depicted there has a cross arm as a single part that is mounted between the two free arms of the frame, in order to give the housing the necessary rigidity.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.